Harry Potter and the Fortress of Shadows
by Mattrick Hoffman
Summary: Set after the events of HalfBlood Prince, Harry's future plans are disrupted by a letter from McGonagall and the arrival of something that belonged to his mother. What will Harry choose to do now? Probably HHr as well as some other pairings coming soon.
1. Prologue

A/N: I do not own anything that you recognize. The only things that belong to me are the original characters and the plotline. All else belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling…who is amazing.

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The graveyard next to the Riddle house had always seemed rather dark and dreary to the residents of Little Hangleton. The chilling mist covering the area and the clouds concealing the moon only worked to make it more so. On a night like tonight, people were sure to remain clear of the area, which, with the recent murder of Frank Bryce, the Riddle family's former gardener and the one suspect in their murders, was rumored to be cursed. Had anyone been there, however, they would have seen a woman, shrouded in a silver cloak, slowly making her way between the tombstones.

As the woman entered the clearing around the Riddle's gravestone, she paused and slowly knelt before it. She seemed to be on the verge of speaking when suddenly a young woman appeared behind her.

"Madame, Lord Voldemort is here to see you," the girl said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Thank you, Anaira." The woman said softly.

As the girl walked away, the woman turned, looking up at the house on the hill. '_It seems like it was so long ago_,' she thought to herself, her mind filling up with memories.

"Your Highness," said a high, cold voice from behind her.

"Tom," she said with a smile, "It has been too long."

"Indeed it has," he agreed. "You are more beautiful than I remember," he whispered, staring softly into the face partially hidden beneath the hood of her cloak.

"You've changed as well; you're no longer the boy I knew," she said shyly, surveying the man who stood before her.

"I haven't changed as much as you think," he replied.

"I'm sure you haven't," she said with a smirk. "Well, enough reminiscing. Tell me, Tom, why did you ask me here tonight?"

At this, he paused. He turned around and glanced up at the moon, wondering how to put it. Finally, he swung around and said, "I…I need your help."

She smiled. "You really haven't changed."

"You know full well what I need, and you know that if he succeeds…" he didn't continue, allowing the statement to hang ominously in the cold night air.

"Ah, then you already know that Minerva has approached me," she said, staring at him from beneath her hood.

"Yes, and I was hoping you would accept her offer," he replied optimistically.

"I will accept it, and I will watch the boy carefully. I only hope that it is not too late," she said as she turned to walk away. "As you very well know, there is much at stake for me as well. If the prophecy does not come to pass it could mean the end of my family. We both know how disastrous that could be."

"Indeed," he replied softly. "How will I know when to act?"

She laughed softly, "Trust me, you will know." With that, she turned and pulled her wand from the depths of her robes. Muttering in strange language, she pointed it straight at the moon and the Dark Lord watched as a tongue of black flame shot out towards it.

Miles away, a boy named Harry Potter awoke with a start.


	2. Owls and Memories

A/N: I should have mentioned from the beginning that this story is compliant with the events of _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ except for the relationships involved. Harry and Ginny are not an object and neither are Hermione and Ron. Of course this means that anything could happen…

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**Chapter 1: Owls and Memories**

Harry bolted upright, his scar burning and the dream that had awakened him quickly fading. There was something about a woman. Voldemort had been talking to her. She seemed to know him. And had Voldemort been…_afraid_ of her? Was it fear? And if it was, was that good for Harry…or bad?

All these thoughts were jostling for space within his mind, which made his scar burn even worse. Even as he thought about it, the dream was almost gone. All he could remember was the woman and Voldemort. Harry closed his eyes hard and tried to remember what they had said. If he could only remember…

Harry turned and started looking around his room, hoping for something to trigger his memory. The room was in a state of disorganized chaos. Books and pieces of parchment littered his desk, along with a very dirty owl cage, which was, at the moment, empty. The floor was strewn with a mixture of dirty clothing and clean robes, as well as a broomstick and several newspapers. Anyone looking at the room would have thought that someone very strange lived there.

For that matter, Harry Potter was a very strange boy. Harry Potter was a wizard. Even for a wizard he wasn't normal. His parents had died when he was a baby, murdered by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Voldemort had then turned his wand on Harry, but his curse had failed, leaving Voldemort close to death. Harry had been taken to the Dursley's, his very mean, non-magical relatives. He had lived there until the age of eleven, when he discovered his wizardry and went to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

At Hogwarts, Harry had learned that he was considered a hero to the wizarding world. Everyone knew his name, and he and the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead were famous. He had also met his two best friends in the world, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

A sudden tapping on the window broke Harry's train of thought. He turned and saw his snowy owl, Hedwig, his best friend Ron's owl Pig, and two more owls that he didn't recognize. He quickly went over and opened the window, before the tapping could awaken his uncle, and the owls flew in. His aunt and uncle hated anything to do with the magical world and the owls at his window were definitely included in that category. He ran over to Hedwig and untied the letter and package on her leg. He opened it and began to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I'm having a great summer. My parents surprised me with a trip to America this year! I had so much fun and met so many interesting American wizards. I can't wait to tell you and Ron about everything that I have learned!_

_I was just writing to say that I'll see you at Bill and Fleur's wedding this weekend and to wish you a happy birthday. I hope you like my present! I found it in a store we visited in a wizarding community here and I thought you would find it helpful considering our plans for the year. Anyway, I have to go, my parents are saying it's time to leave for dinner. Wouldn't want to be late, considering it's our last night here! See you soon!_

_With love,_

_Hermione_

Harry felt a strange twist in his stomach after reading the letter, but dismissed it. He glanced at his clock. 2:27. His stomach did another twist. He had been 17 for two and a half hours now. He turned back and tore open Hermione's present. It was a book entitled _1000 Curses for Defending Against the Dark Arts. _He _was_ going to like this present.

He then turned to Pig, who was carrying a small package, which Harry untied and found to be quite heavy. He tore it open to find a small glass ball swirling with grey smoke and a note. He picked the note up and read it.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday! I hope your having a great summer, and I hope you like your present. It's a Danger Ball. If you are in danger, the smoke turns green. I don't know how reliable it is, but I figured that if were going to fight You-Know-Who, we should have whatever help we can get. Well, that's it I think…Oh! Mum wanted me to tell you that Dad is coming to get you at 8 in the morning August 1. He's going to take you to get your Apparation test taken and then back to The Burrow. See you then!_

_Ron_

Apparation? Oh! He was seventeen and could legally do magic now. He grinned. Tomorrow morning he was gonna have some fun with Dudley. He picked up the small ball and was happy to see that the smoke stayed grey.

He suddenly remembered the other two owls, so he let Pig and Hedwig fly out the window and turned to the other two.

One was carrying a letter that look mysteriously like a Hogwarts letter. He grabbed it and let the owl go. Sure enough, it was from Hogwarts. Furiously, he tore it open. He had written McGonagall earlier this summer to inform her that he, Ron, and Hermione would not be attending school anymore. To his surprise, there was the school list, as well as a letter.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I know that you wrote me to say that Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, and yourself would not be attending Hogwarts this year. I am writing now asking you to reconsider. I know that you want to find the Dark Lord and defeat him and yet I feel that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has things you need to learn first. I have sent letters to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, requesting the same thing. I would also like to inform you that if you and your friends do return, Miss Granger and yourself have been made Head Boy and Girl. I sincerely hope that you will return and if you do I would like to see you in my office before thefeast. The password is "Phoenix Feather"._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry reread the letter. He laid back down on his bed. Go back to Hogwarts? He hadn't considered it. He didn't know if he could, with what had happened to Dumbledore last year. Harry felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he thought of the old Headmaster. Shaking his head and blinking to clear his eyes, he quickly refocused his thoughts. What could this new teacher possibly have to teach him that Dumbledore hadn't thought important enough to teach him already? He decided to wait and see what Ron and Hermione thought.

Suddenly, he remembered the last owl. He turned and looked at it.

It was an old, grey owl. Normally, there would have been nothing remarkable about this owl, but it stood there, almost, _regally._ Its eyes seemed to gaze into Harry's very soul and he could almost not stand to look at it. And yet, it seemed so…beautiful. Harry tore his eyes away from the owl's to look at its burden. It was a small package, wrapped in plain brown paper. He untied it from the owl and immediately it took off through the open window. Harry watched it fly away, mesmerized. Suddenly he remembered the package.

He carefully unwrapped it and extracted a small wooden box, along with a note consisting of three lines of hastily scrawled writing.

_This belonged to your mother_

_I thought it best that you should have it_

_I hope it helps_

He picked up the box and began to examine it. It was small, able to fit nicely in his palm. It was made of a very dark wood and the top was inlaid with a large ruby and some intricate gold weavings. Carefully, he opened the lid and looked inside.

Laying inside the box was a ring, but not just any ring. It was the most fascinating ring Harry had ever seen. It was a band of woven gold, inset with a ruby, sapphire, emerald, and diamond, equally spaced around it. Harry found that he couldn't take his eyes from it.

Seeing it there in the box, he could tell it was too small to fit him, but he felt a sudden urge to put it on. As he took it from the box and slipped it on his finger, he was shocked to discover that the ring expanded to fit him perfectly. Suddenly, exhaustion overcame him, and he dropped onto the bed, drifting softly off to sleep

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"HARRY!"

Aunt Petunia's shrill cry awoke Harry from his peaceful sleep. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he hadn't dreamed.

"HARRY! Get down here! Breakfast!" Aunt Petunia continued to scream, rousing Harry from his thoughts. He quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs. As he sat down at the table, Petunia turned to face him. She glanced at his hand and suddenly her face became ghostly pale.

"Wh…where did you get that?" she asked, her voice trembling. Harry glanced at his hand and realized he was still wearing the ring.

"Someone sent it to me. Why?" he asked, wondering why Petunia looked so shaken.

"Lily…she got that from our parents on her seventeenth birthday. After she got it…she wasn't the same. She…she became…" she suddenly regained her resolve and her face solidified. "Go…go back to your room," she said quietly.

As Harry made his way upstairs, he wondered why the ring had terrified his aunt so much. And what did she mean that his mother wasn't the same? He quickly ran back to his room and grabbed the ring's box from where it lay on his bed. He examined the box from all angles, trying to find something that would give him some information about it. Finally, inside the lid of the box, Harry found a short inscription:

_The Ring of Stalmar_

_Let not the power most potent_

_Bring about horrible pain_

_Use it for good_

Harry made a mental note to ask Hermione if she had ever heard of this Ring of Stalmar. He again felt a small twist in his stomach upon thinking of her and silently wondered what was going on with him. However, he soon dismissed it upon remembering that he still needed to pack before Mr. Weasley came and picked him up tomorrow morning.

Later that day, he walked into the kitchen again, this time having left the ring upstairs, and saw Petunia standing at the counter, looking upset.

"Er…Aunt Petunia?" he offered tentatively.

"What?" she snapped.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, wondering why he suddenly cared.

Aunt Petunia sighed heavily. "It's nothing," she said dismissively. Then her expression softened. "It's just…when I saw that ring on your finger today I…I remembered how close Lily and I used to be. Even when she went to that school, we were still like best friends. When she got that ring though, things changed. Lily changed. Nothing very noticeable, she just seemed distant. She stopped talking to me and so, in my mind, I decided to hate her, and you by association." Harry silently wondered why she was telling him this. She continued, " I guess seeing it on you…it reminded me how much like her you are and how much I loved her. I know you are leaving tomorrow and…I…I just want to apologize for the way we've treated you all these years. As her son, you deserved so much better from me."

Harry was speechless. His aunt had never said anything remotely like this to him and he didn't quite know how to respond. Slowly, he walked over to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you," he said softly. "You don't know how much that means to me."

She smiled wearily at him. "Just know that you are always welcome here, no matter what your uncle says. You will always find safety and protection here."

Harry felt the sudden urge to hug her, and did so, eliciting a small gasp of surprise from his aunt. After several seconds, they parted and Harry smiled at her. "Thank you, Aunt Petunia, I needed that." With that Harry walked out of the kitchen and back to his room, left to ponder what exactly had gone on between him and his aunt.

The next day, Harry woke bright and early at 6 o'clock. He double checked to make sure that everything was packed and ready to go and made sure that Hedwig was securely locked in her cage. He checked all his hiding places to make sure he hadn't left any books, food, or other items and went over the entire room with cleaning charms just to be sure. By 7:30, Harry and all of his possessions were downstairs waiting for Mr. Weasley to arrive.

Finally a few minutes past 8, the doorbell rang, eliciting a "It's about bloody time," from his uncle. Harry hurried over to the door and opened it, revealing Mr. Weasley as well as a small Ministry car parked on the edge of the road. Harry smiled inwardly; remembering the last time the Weasleys had collected him from Privet Drive and glad that Mr. Weasley seemed to have learned his lesson.

"Ah, Harry," he said with a smile. "Just let me grab your things and we can be on our way." The older man rushed inside and grabbed Harry's things, obviously not wanting a repeat of the last encounter. As Mr. Weasley loaded his things into the car, Harry turned and faced his aunt.

"I guess…er…this is goodbye," he said. "Thanks again for everything you said yesterday."

"Goodbye, Harry," she whispered, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "Remember what I told you, you are always welcome here. And never stop being like Lily, she would be so proud of what you've become."

Harry gave his aunt one last hug, coincidentally only the second he had ever given her, eliciting shocked expressions from his uncle and cousin. Finally, Harry got into the car, along with a nervous looking Mr. Weasley, and they drove off, leaving Petunia Dursley standing on her immaculate front lawn, watching as they disappeared around the corner.

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So, how was that? Please leave reviews and let me know your opinions. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks! 


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